Lab report: PMIR physcians add a new treatment option to their toolbox

Over the past fifty years, medicine, patient care, treatment techniques, and medical devices have evolved at an exponential pace. Given the rapid development of today’s medical landscape, our physicians believe it’s important to continually grow and hone their repertoire of treatment options, building their “physician’s toolbox.” By attending conferences, participating in labs, and collaborating with other physicians, our doctors add new tools to their toolbox to provide patients with the most comprehensive and up-to-date treatment plans.

In keeping with this philosophy, Dr. Alexander Hersel, Dr. Bradley Spiegel, and Dr. Brandon Nguyen arrived wide-eyed last weekend (with the help of a little coffee, of course) at our surgical center in Thousand Oaks. This particular lab is designed to teach a minimally invasive procedure used to repair vertebral body compression fractures (VCF), a fracture to the main part of a vertebra. You may have VCF if you have osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, or have suffered an acute trauma to the spine. A damaged vertebral body can cause shooting pain, numbness, tingling, and even paralysis. During this lab, our physicians were able to work with a cadaver (don’t worry, we’ll spare you the queasy details) to stimulate a vertebroplasty – a procedure that redevelops and restructures a damaged vertebra using specially formulated bone cement. A vertebroplasty will give your vertebra the added strength it needs to support the weight of the spine above it, thus reducing your experience of pain.

Vertebroplasty is now one of the many minimally invasive procedures our physicians have in their toolbox. At PMIR, your custom treatment plan is tailored to get you out of pain, and give you back the life that you want and deserve. Schedule an appointment today if you are one of the millions of people suffering from back pain. Pain does not have to be long term — experience PMIR and allow our doctors to find out which tools are right for your individual needs.